Non-Fiction

Yummy and easy recipes!
Thanks to NetGalley and Fox Chapel Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Dump Cake Magic by Anne Schaeffer!
Magnificently easy, quick and delicious dessert recipes for taste buds of every kind. Each recipe is followed by a photograph of the completed dessert. A must-have cookbook for dessert connoisseurs, 5 stars!

DIY destressing!
Thanks to NetGalley and Storey Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Girls’ Home Spa Lab by Maya Pagan! A wonderful collection of self-care advice, tips and recipes for pre-teen girls, teenagers and women of all ages. Simple directions make this guide helpful and the projects doable, from sleep masks to foot cream! A must have book for teens everywhere, 5 stars!

I received a pdf of Top 80 Keto Pressure Cooker Recipes by Ellen Branson!
The Keto basics are covered right off and then recipes, recipes and more recipes! Recipes are written to easily make the foods in your pressure cooker, saving time! I appreciate the list of foods to eat: leafy greens, dairy products, and fruits and foods to avoid: grains and sugary foods, which simplified the Keto diet. I also appreciate the pressure cooker directions and tips. Each recipe begins with a photograph,clear ingredients list, preparation directions, nutritional facts and serving size. Recipes are categorized, including a section on soups, snacks, meats and vegetarian and more. Helpful and yummy 😋, 5 stars!

I received a pdf of Keto Cookies by Ellen Branson per author request to read and review honestly.
Keto Cookies is a short, sweet cookbook of all things cookie! Less than 60 pages, packed full of sweet treats ideas that follow the Keto diet. Cookies become a little more difficult to make when following the Keto diet because some of the ingredients required are ingredients that I don’t normally have on hand, like almond flour or Stevia (an artificial sweetener). Each recipe has a photograph included and the most fun recipe in the entire book is chocolate bacon cookies! I also learned what Erythritol is, a sugar alcohol. Great recipes for everyone interested in the Keto menu, 5 stars!

Become an activist for equality with another guide from Erinne Paisley!
Thanks to Orca Book Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Can Your Conversations Change the World? by Erinne Paisley!
This book takes a look at feminism and the continuation of working towards equal rights. As part of the POPACTIVISM series, this book focuses on the importance of discussing feminism and what it means for equality. The author shares a bit of her upbringing and the educational background her parents gave her that has helped foster her independence throughout her life. The author has written other activism books and she’s still a teenager. Very impressive! Feminism simply means believing in equality and human rights for both males and females. 5 stars for this impressive book!

Interesting read!
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Feiwel and Friends for the opportunity to read and review History vs Women: The Defiant Lives That They Don’t Want You To Know by Anita Sarkeesian and Ebony Adams!
The chapter titles are Reckless Rebels, Revelatory Scholars, Ruthless Villains, Restless Artists, and Relentless Amazons! The chapter titles made me even more interested in the book! The introduction got me hyped up by a few historical facts about women, such as a Japanese woman invented the novel and a Chinese woman ruled a fleet of 400 pirate ships. This impressive work of history and the women who created it is a gem to read! From a civil rights activist to a prime minister, each story captured my interest and I will purchase this book for the library for research and as a great read, 5 stars!

Helpful and useful for complex garden planning.
Thanks to NetGalley and Timber Press for the opportunity to read and review The Essential Garden Design Workbook by Rosemary Alexander and Rachel Myers!
I thought this book was for a layperson to help with designing landscapes but it’s geared more toward professional landscapers. The design phase section is helpful to both with tips on shapes, patterns and unification of gardens. Helps on furniture and containers are included also. The garden layout plan section helps to visualize what you want your landscape to look like. Some photos are included but most of the book is illustrated. Helpful but a little too complex for the average gardener; still deserves a 5 star rating for the complete directions of landscaping from start to finish!

Adorably fun!
Thanks to Bookish First for giving me a copy of Crochet Animal Rugs by Ira Rott, published by Sewandso!
A great book filled with wonderful inspiration to create your own crocheted projects or create any of the adorable ideas included. Detailed instructions, simplified crochet guide and illustrations and photos are given to help even beginning crocheters. After reading this book, I went online to get a book cover image to post on my blog. I found even more adorable crocheted wonders from people who took their inspiration from Ira Rott’s book and added flourishes to make their own creations, such as a peacock and a unicorn. So cute!
5 stars for this user-friendly crochet guide!

Completely helpful!
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review Be Mindful & Stress Less by Gina M. Bigel!
The fifty ways to deal with your crazy life are broken down into parts. Pay attention with senses is part one, part two is self-care, part three is always consider other responses, and each of these focuses on how to handle stress, learning to be mindful of our surroundings and stress triggers and self-care. My favorite stress relief is to “just breathe”! So relaxing. Taking mindful pauses to keep stress in check and to become more aware of our responses to problems is a wonderful tip also. The 5 G’s, gratitude exercises to help express and experience gratitude, and encouragement to treat yourself with kindness are resourceful and beneficial advice sections. Wonderful book for dealing with life’s inevitable stresses, 5 stars!

I’m interested in having a greenhouse someday and began reading GardeningUnderLights by Leslie F. Halleck with greenhouse ideas in mind. The first fifth of the book explains light for plants scientifically and in depth with the variations and types of light. The next section discusses grow lamp options and their effects on plants. Then the following: growing environments, pests and diseases to be aware of, plant care and propagation and, the final section: edible plants and ornamental plants, make up the biggest part of the book with plants listed alphabetically in both categories. This is botanical level information, which is helpful but I would prefer a more concise instructional guide for plant growth, 4 stars.